Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem says the US should withdraw from the Tanf base in southeastern Syria, ahead of any agreement reached in the south of the country.

WALID AL-MOALLEM SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER "I say, do not believe all of the reports about an agreement in the South of Syria until you see that the United States has withdrawn its forces from the Tanf base. And they have to withdraw their forces from the Tanf base because this is Syrian land."

The remarks by al-Moallem came in response to the recent reports of a Russian-backed deal in southern Syria about the withdrawal of Iranian-backed forces from areas close to the Syrian border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Meanwhile, the minister denied what Israel claims the involvement of Iranian forces in Syria, saying Iran has only sent military advisors upon the request of the Syrian government. He also expressed gratitude for Iran's help against foreign-backed terrorism in Syria since the beginning of the conflict.

WALID AL-MOALLEM SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER "There is no Iranian presence, in the sense of a military presence on the ground. These are Israeli narratives trying to benefit from the American attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran. In Syria, there are Iranian advisors, and some of them have been martyred, working on the side of the military forces of the Arab Republic of Syria. And they are present, with the agreement and in coordination with our military forces, as they must be. The Islamic Republic of Iran does not have any fixed military bases."